Happy Hour is..

where anytime you have a book open and a cup of coffee within reach is happy hour!







Monday, February 21, 2011

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

ARC

Product Details

  • Pub. Date: March 2011
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • Format: Paperback , 416pp
  • Sales Rank: 96,277

Synopsis


Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams,  Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…
My review:
Simply a must read !
I found I couldn't put this book down. 
Kylie is your "almost" typical teen with The  ex -boyfriend, parent issues, the friend who likes to party a bit more than you and somehow you end up in trouble, and she sees a ghost.Most of us have at least one of these in our teen years if not all. Which makes Kylie easy to relate to from the start. Once she is sent to Shadow Falls things get a little stranger but through the strangeness and help of new friends  Kylie begins to understand better who she is as a person and where she comes from although she still has a lot to figure out including what to do about the hot half fairy"Derek" and the super hot werewolf "Lucas" who I truly hope to read a lot more about in books to come!This book had  a great paranormal twist with hot guys,creepy cool new friends, a bit of mystery when added together have created the first book in what I believe is going to be a great series!
I recommend this book with a solid 5 stars!

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

netgalley

Overview -

Angel Burn

Product Details

  • Pub. Date: May 2011
  • Publisher: Brilliance Audio
  • Format: MP3 on CD

Synopsis

Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow that Willow herself. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces, and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in an action-packed romantic trilogy, L. A. Weatherly sends listeners on a thrill ride of a road trip – and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful.
My Review:
I really enjoyed this first book in the Angel trilogy, from the truly creepy thought of Angels who feed off humans "I mean really wouldn't that just suck!", the fighting and running for your life action, and of course the  always enjoyable love story.
Following Willow"Half angel" and Alex"Angel Killer" through the short glimpses of their life prior to meeting each other and how the Angels affected both of their lives and family's, their dislike and eventually love for each other and how they get   from one point to the other all the while trying to survive on the run from Angels was great and had me turning page after page. 
I cannot wait to see how this trilogy continues .
I recommend this book with 4.5 stars!

Lost Voices By Sarah Porter

Overview -

netgalley

Lost Voices

Product Details

  • Pub. Date: July 2011
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Format: Hardcover , 304pp
  • Sales Rank: 1,009,642
  • Age Range: Young Adult

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?
The first book in a trilogy, Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.
My Review:
Throughout this book I had mixed feelings on where it was headed and what I thought of it.
In the end I found the story to be a combination of many different  feelings from sympathetic, heartbreaking,irritating and just plane pissed me off at points. I guess I expected more from Luce and the other girls than I found at points in the story but after all they are only human...Kinda! 
That being said I enjoyed this book. The idea that such tragedy can turn young girls into mermaids is interesting. I look forward to seeing where  Sara takes these girls and their story's.
I recommend this book with 3.5 stars